CLEARWATER – You don't need to be from Clearwater to have fun this weekend at the Clearwater Heritage Days.

The two-day festival begins Friday, and it's among several going on in the area. In Albany, Heritage Day on Saturday is followed by the Seven Dolors Parish Festival on Sunday. Greenwald has Barley Days, and Royalton has Platte River Days.

Clearwater Heritage Days started as a customer appreciation event organized by Don Lemke more than 30 years ago for the local shopping center.

"He passed away about a year ago," said Pete Edmonson, director of the festival. "He was one of the business owners."

The festival was expanded to two days in 2011. St. Cloud Technical High School's cross-country team has partnered this year with the

festival's organizers to oversee the 5K.

"It's kind of been their fundraiser for them," Edmonson said of the 5K walk and run that starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Edmonson said about 1,000 people attended the Clearwater Heritage Days last year.

"There will be a town tour Saturday because there is a lot of history here, with existing homes that are over a hundred years old and different locations where there used to be businesses that are now remodeled or moved," he said.

The 7 p.m. parade on Friday starts on Nelson Drive and continues around the Clearwater Shopping Center before ending an hour later at Wright County Road 75.

"If people needed to pick one event to go to, they are really going to enjoy Friday night's parade, rather than a traditional Saturday morning (parade)," he said.

The half-mile route of the parade will feature more than 70 participants; there will also be a kiddie parade starting at 4:30 p.m. that day with between 75 and 100 children expected to participate.

"Really, the great kind of end-of-the-summer festival is that Friday, and Saturday we have a bunch of physical activities — people running the 5K, playing softball, disc golf," he said.